Packaging machines for filling containers with discrete articles for personal treatment, such as pharmaceutical pills, are known in the art. However, existing container filling machines are plagued with numerous deficiencies that often render them ineffective and inefficient.
The purpose of container filling machines for discrete articles for personal treatment is to take a large supply of such discrete articles and to transport them towards a container, while ensuring that a desired number of the discrete articles for personal treatment are placed into the container. Many container filling machines are also operative for detecting the integrity of the discrete articles for personal treatment so that defective discrete articles for personal treatment are not included in the containers.
A first deficiency with existing container filling machines for packaging discrete articles for personal treatment is that they use vibrating trays in order to space the discrete articles from each other and move them towards one or more sensing devices, and ultimately towards the containers. However, these vibrating trays do not evenly space and distribute the discrete articles for personal treatment as they move towards the sensing devices that are operative to detect the integrity of the discrete articles. As such, in some cases, two or more discrete articles for personal treatment are provided to the sensing device at the same time, which can cause incorrect readings.
A second deficiency with many existing container filling machines is that they use optical sensors in order to determine the integrity of each discrete article for personal treatment. Such optical sensors take an optical scan of the exterior shape of the discrete article for personal treatment as it passes in front of one or more optical cameras. The optical cameras then determine the integrity of the discrete article for personal treatment based on the optical scan. While such optical sensors can detect the integrity of most discrete articles for personal treatment, depending on the orientation of the discrete article for personal treatment as it passes by the optical cameras, the optical scan may not detect a defective region of the discrete article. In addition, if two discrete articles for personal treatment pass through the optical scanner at the same time, the optical cameras will be unable to detect the integrity of one or both of the discrete articles for personal treatment.
In addition, the manner in which many existing container filling machines detect whether there exists one or more defective discrete articles for personal treatment in a container is to weigh the container once the container has been filled. In the case where the container does not weigh a predetermined correct weight, then it is determined that the container contains one or more defective discrete articles for personal treatment and the entire container is emptied and then re-filled. It can be appreciated that this is both inefficient, and causes a lot of wasted discrete articles for personal treatment.
In light of the above, there is a need in the industry for an improved container filling machine that alleviates, at least in part, the deficiencies of existing container filling machines, and container filling machine systems.